Lie group and stability analysis of tangent hyperbolic fluid flow driven by a shrinking sheet

Abstract

This study elaborates on the mathematical modeling of tangent hyperbolic fluid flow driven by a shrinking sheet in a porous medium. The roles of Soret-Dufour and thermal radiation are considered to model the energy and concentration equations. The primary objective is to find an appropriate similarity transformation through Lie group analysis, which helps to produce the self-similar equations from the governing nonlinear partial systems. The similarity solutions are calculated numerically using the “bvp4c” solver in Matlab. Additionally, adequate suction is required to obtain the similarity solutions. As expected, dual solutions are found within a certain range of the suction parameter. The skin friction coefficient, heat, and mass transfer rates at the sheet are observed for pertinent flow constraints of physical interest. It reveals that the dual solutions bifurcate from a critical point, and beyond this point, no solution exists. Furthermore, the branches of dual solutions on the nondimensional velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles depict different characteristics. Thus, a linear temporal stability analysis has been employed to test the flow stability, revealing that the upper branch is physically reliable. The heat transfer rate increases by 7.69% and 9.55% in the upper and lower branches, respectively, for Soret parameter changes from 0.6 to 0.9. Meanwhile, the mass transfer rate decreases by 85.30% and 324.60% in the upper and lower branches, respectively. The consequences of Weissenberg and suction parameters show an opposite character on the velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles in the upper branch.